Portable conveyer



Feb. 8, 1944. SALyADOR 2,341,162 PORTABLE CONVEYER Filed July 25, 1942 2Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Ja ck. Salvador Feb. 8, 1944. J. SALVADOR2,341,162

PORTABLE CONVEYER Filed July 25, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T i 'l INVENTORJack Salvador Patented Feb. 8, 1944 UNITED PORTABLE CONVEYER JackSalvador, Toccoa, (3a., assignor to R. G.

Le Tourneau, 1110., Stockton, Caliii, a corporation of CaliforniaApplication Juiy 25, 1942, Serial No. 452,268

5 Claims.

a railroad car into which the shells are to be loaded.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a horizontalconveyer which includes a pair of horizontal rails mounted in side byside but spaced relation, a plurality of rail supported trolj leys fromwhich the articles to be conveyed are suspended, and unique means toswitch said trolleys from one rail to the other; the trolleys beingmoved in opposite directions along said rails.

A further object of the invention is to embody in a conveyer as in thepreceding paragraph, a novel stop arrangement to prevent the trolleysfrom escaping from either of the rails when the switch units are not incooperating position relative to the ends of said rails.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide in a portableconveyer, a frame which is wheel-supported at opposite ends; theelevation of the frame relative to the wheels at one end being variableby adjustment of the wheel mounts, whereby the trolley supporting railsmay be disposed horizontally in any given working position of theconveyer.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice and yet one which will he exceedingly effective for the purposefor which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by aperusal of the followingspecification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, foreshortened, of the conveyer.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating one end of the conveyerand the corresponding switch unit.

Figure 3 is an end section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the conveyer comprises a horizontally elongated upstandingframe, which includes transversely spaced I end posts I at each endconnected together at the top by cross beams 2; the frame havingdiagonal bracing 3 which extends between the end posts I on both sidesof the structure.

A pair of rail t, of somewhat greater length than the frame, are securedto the underside of cross beams 2 in transversely spaced parallelrelation; said rails being formed from Ibeams, the flanges of which formthe tracks for the trolleys, as will hereinafter appear. The railsproject some distance beyond the frame at opposite ends of the latterand the outmost end portions 5 of the projecting rails are flared orcurved laterally and outwardly, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The conveyer at each end includes a switch unit which comprises thefollowing:

A horizontal swinging bar 6 is pivoted, as at l, to cross beam 2centrally between rails 4 and at the point of intersection of extendedcenter lines of flared end portions 5 of rails 4. This bar 5 projectshorizontally from said pivot to a termination some distance beyond endportions 5 of said rails. An arcuate plate 8, concentric to pivot T,connects the ends of rail portions 5 and is mounted atop the latter; aroller 9 mounted on bar 6 riding said plate, supporting the bar andfacilitating swinging movement thereof.

A relatively short rail section Hi, likewise formed from an I-beam, isfixedly suspended from the outer end of bar 6 in position to closelyaline with either one of the adjacent end portions 5 of rails 6,depending on the position of bar 6. The outer end of each rail sectionI0 is closed as shown at H, while the inner end is open. Stops E2 on therails limit outward swinging movement of bar 6 and are positioned sothat when the bar engages one thereof, the rail sec.- tion ID is inmatching or alined relation with the corresponding rail portion 5 andforms an extension thereof.

Each I-beam rail supports a plurality of trolleys, each of whichcomprises a horizontal and longitudinally extending bar-like carriage i3suspended from the rails b longitudinally spaced pairs of rollers Mwhich engage and ride on opposite ones of the lower flanges E5 of saidrails. The rollers 14 are spaced apart lengthwise of the carriages 53 adistance somewhat less than the length of rail sections ii] of theswitch units, whereby the trolleys may be individually switched ateither end of the conveyer from one rail to the other by the followingmanipulation of the corresponding switch unit.

When in use the trolleys are manually moved along the rails, saidtrolleys moving in one direction on one rail and in the oppositedirection on the other. As a trolle reaches the end ofone rail, the bar6 of the switch unit at such end is swung to a position with thecorresponding rail section id in alinement with the end of said on rail.The trolley i then run outward until wholly suspended from said railsection, as is shown in Fig. l. Thereupon, the operator swings bar 5horizontally to the opposite position and rail section so is then inalinement with the end of the other rail. The trolley thereafter ispushed lengthwise to move it from rail section Hi onto the otherailalong which it is subse quently free to move.

The parts to be conveyed are suspended from the carriages I3 byappropriate attachments of the required design, here shown as hooks to.The trolleys, as the same move alon one rail, have the articles to beconveyed suspended therefrom. As said trolleys reach the unloading endof the conveyer, the articles are removed from hooks It, and the thenempty trolley is switched, as above described.

In order to prevent escape of the trolleys from the rails 4 when therail section it! are not in alinement therewith, stop fingers i? arepivoted in connection with the frame for vertical swinging movement in atransverse plane; such fingers normall depending into the path ofrollers i at the ends of rails 4, and aiso in the path of the inner endsof the upper flanges of rail sections l0. While fingers ll normallyprevent es-- cape of the trolleys from rails t, a rail section M3, whenswung to an operative position in alinement with one rail, strikes thecorresponding finger ll. This swings the finger clear of the path of theadjacent rollers i l, permitting such rollers to move to or from therail section.

The conveyer ma be of a fixed type, but if portable, the frame issupported at one end by wheels 58 journaled on the lower ends ofcorresponding posts 1, while at the other end the frame is supported byswivelly mounted wheels 59, said wheels being connected by a tie rod 2D.A pull handle 2| is pivoted to and projects forwardly from one of thewheels iii. The wheels 59 are mounted in connection with thecorresponding end posts I of the frame by means of vertically adjustablescrew spindles 22; these spindles permitting the frame elevation at saidend to be Varied at any point of use so that rails 4 are substantiallyhorizontal, as is desirable for ease Of movement of the trolleys alongboth rails and in opposite directions.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I haveproduced such a device as substantiall fulfills the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

lNhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described m invention, what I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1 A conveyer comprising a frame, a pair of horizontal rails mounted onthe frame in spaced side by side relation, a plurality of trolleysriding the rails, a rail section disposed at opposite ends of the railsfor switching movement between selective positions in close alinementwith adjacent ends of the rails, and means mounting each rail sectionfor said movement in a horizontal plane; said means for each railsection comprising a swinging bar pivoted at one end in a plane betweenthe rails and short of the adjacent ends thereof, the corresponding railsection being mounted in connection with and parallel to said bar, andsaid adjacent ends of the rails being substantially radial of the pivotpoint of said bar.

2. A conveyer comprising a frame, a pair of substantially horizontalrails mounted on the frame in spaced side by side relation, a trolleyadapted to ride said rails, a rail section disposed beyond one end ofthe rails for switching movement between selective positions in end toend alinement with said rails, and means mounting said rail section forhorizontal swinging movement between said positions about a verticalpivot point disposed between and inwardly of said one end of the rails,the rails at said one end being substantially radial of said pivotpoint.

3. A conveyer comprising a frame, a pair of substantially horizontalrails mounted on the frame in spaced side b side relation, a trolleyadapted to ride said rails, a rail section disposed beyond one end ofthe rails for switching movement between selective positions in end toend alinement with said rails, and means mounting said rail section forhorizontal swinging movement between said positions about a'verticalpivot point disposed between and inwardly of said one end of the rails,the rails being curved outwardly adjacent said one end thereof wherebythe latter are substantially radial of said pivot point.

4. A conveyer comprising a frame, a pair of horizontal rails mounted onthe frame in spaced side by side relation, a plurality of trolleysriding the rails, a rail section disposed at opposite ends of the railsfor switching movement between selective positions in close alinementwith adjacent ends of the rails, and means mounting each rail sectionfor said movement in a horizontal plane; said means for mounting eachrail section comprising a swinging bar pivoted at one end in a planebetween the rails and short of the adjacent ends thereof, thecorresponding rail section being mounted in connection with and parallelto said bar, th rails bein curved outwardly adjacent said one endthereof whereby the latter are substantially radial of said pivot point.

5. A conveyer including a pair of rails disposed in spaced side by siderelation, load supporting trolleys riding said rails, switch unitsmounted adjacent the ends of the rails and projecting beyond said railends to switch trolleys from one rail to the other and a portable frameincluding end legs supporting said rails and movable in a directionlengthwise of the rails and switch units; the frame being disposed sothat the rails at one end thereof and the corresponding switch projectbeyond the frame and the adjacent end legs.

JACK SALVADOR.

